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JNUTA writes to HRD minister, seeks vice chancellor's removal

Last Updated 23 January 2020, 19:34 IST

JNU teachers association (JNUTA) on Thursday deplored HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for ruling out the removal of vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar and asked him to explain to the nation what would be considered as a stronger ground for his removal if not the long history of misgovernance under him and January 5 campus violence.

Throwing its weight behind the protesting students and teachers continuing on the campus for over two months, the JNUTA claimed they have established the connection between the vice chancellor's style of functioning and crisis in the JNU in relation to the fee hike and January 5 violence.

“If after all of this, and the unprecedented expression of national and international opinion in favour of his removal, you insist that M Jagadesh Kumar should be allowed to continue as JNU vice-chancellor, then perhaps you might explain to the nation when the case for the removal of a vice-chancellor would be considered strong enough,” JNUTA said in an open letter to the HRD minister.

This comes two days after Nishank told a news agency that the demands for the JNU vice chancellor's removal now were not reasonable when the basic demand of the students about the hostel fee hike has been met. He also said that the ministry wants a conducive environment for academics, not anarchy in universities.

“Your (Nishank) indication is presumably towards the withdrawal of the utility and service charges that were levied on the students by the JNU administration. Even if one accepts that this meets the basic demand of the students, the leap from that to questioning the legitimacy of the call for the vice chancellor's removal is surprising,” JNUTA noted.

“Particularly shocking is the fact that you chose to ignore in the process the horrific violence that took place in JNU on January 5 under the charge of the vice-chancellor. Why is it so important that one vice-chancellor should continue in office for the remaining one year of his five-year term that a Union Minister is staking his own reputation on it?”

The teacher's body noted that the HRD minister while defending the vice-chancellor has sent out a message that students and teachers of the JNU should be prepared to face “more of the terror” that they and their family members were subjected to on January 5 in the campus.

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(Published 23 January 2020, 15:46 IST)

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